


A Childhood Tale.

by sanctipeccator



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Elementary School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bullying, Fluff and Angst, Fuck Canon (In some ways), Getting to Know Each Other, Homophobia, Human Ash (Apex Legends), Human Pathfinder (Apex Legends), Human Revenant (Apex Legends), Kids Fights, The Voidwalker is an Imaginary Friend of Wraith, You Know Because The Wraith thing is Kind of a Power
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:41:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28761207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctipeccator/pseuds/sanctipeccator
Summary: Childhood is something that is lived once in a lifetime, we do not all go through the same things or under the same circumstances, it is known and unknown. You are curious or you are fearful, you cry or you laugh. Of course, and I emphasize, we do not all have the same memories about childhood. So, why not dig a little into it?Fifteen children, fifteen different stories and pasts, none resembled the other in anything, but their lives end up colliding after making friends with the same child, giving way to curious confusions, discoveries, personality developments and cruelty in innocence.What could go wrong outside of family problems and school bullying?
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon & Mirage | Elliott Witt, Mirage | Elliott Witt & All of Them
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> Good afternoon, beautiful people!
> 
> Today I bring you a story that, like many others, has been hovering in my head for a while until, well, the inspiration really collided and I started with dialogues and scenes, which were soon made parts of chapters.
> 
> So I put on the batteries and in an improvised prologue I told more or less how it will all start, in each chapter it will tell how some of them met Elliott after incidents at school, private lessons or surprise encounters, in some other chapter there will be some warning due to bullying and a little child abuse, but, outside of that, there will be a little child drama, separations and reconciliations, adding that to the soup of back and forth that will have the characters before “The Divine Friendship" is really is formed.
> 
> But anyway, enjoy this small and very fast prologue, while I will be writing the chapters and having attacks of inspiration, see you all in the final notes.

Anyone who has children in elementary school could tell you without a problem that they knew the Witt family.

The Witts are well-loved in the town, Evelyn was a teacher of mathematics, arts, and language, she stopped teaching in schools after having her second child and went on to give private lessons in a makeshift classroom of her house, therefore, the children used to go there to learn and improve in the lower subjects.

Something her students liked was that she let them play in the huge yard before their parents came to pick them up, which made her adored by both children and parents.

The Marriage Witt has four children; Roger, the older son that is in the fourth year of high school, shone on the chess team for being one of the most strategi and attacker on the board. Then there was Rick, who although did not have the intellect of Roger in games, had the third place for the outstanding student in mathematics.

In contrast, Elon was differentiated from his brothers by having chosen to be more simple, despite not having something to highlight, he was appreciated by teachers for being a pleasant student and a helper of classmates when needed.

And, then there was _Elliott_ , the youngest of the four brothers, he was one of those children that one would call “antisocial”, despite knowing a lot and keeping very good grades in the newsletters, he didn't socialize and little was known about him, he was good at art workshops and physical education but, even so, he refused to spend time with the other kids.

It is rumored, in both children and adults, that he was harassed by a group of students a grade higher than his since Elliott was a supposed _'_ _weirdo'_.

It isn't known for how long this happens or if it actually happens, but that didn't prevent Elliott from being recognized as the weirdo of the Witt family, thus causing other children, guided by pressure from peers who believed in the rumor, to refused approaching him.

But what if someone takes the courage to talk to him? What will happen? Are the rumors true or was it just a kid joke?

Curiosity is never bad, and _several kids_ will get carried away with it.


	2. Run The Risk.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tae Joon is not a big fan of curiosity, less of improvised things, but "things" do not go as one expects, so why not better take the risk and venture?  
> Total, the rumors could not be true... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me longer than I thought, so sorry for the delay, dear ones.
> 
> The heat kills me and with it kills my inspiration, although, do not worry! I'm not going to leave things half-finished. And I'm sure our dear Tae Joon doesn't like that either.  
> Enjoy these cute 4K words while I go back to sleep bathed in ice, at least for a while. 
> 
> Clarifications: the way I write Elliott's stutters is out of pure experience of my own, I myself usually stutter with the words... A LOT.   
> So if in one way or another you are offended by the way I write those moments, a thousand apologies, but it will not be my problem either.
> 
> Anyways, I'll se you all in the additional notes.

Evelyn Witt was one of the most known names in the city, more than anything, the surname Witt itself was. Its members stood out in one way or another, therefore, if someone said Witt they were most likely to be easily recognized.

Whether it's for good or bad.

Rumors run like leaves in the wind, many times they spread like viruses and infect people.

After that, in the end, who seems the only infected ends up being the poor victim of the rumor.

Tae Joon knew little of the Witt family, apart from the talks he overheard from his mother's friends and his own classmates, they were a stable and beloved family, with four children who each stood out in their own way, either by sport or personality, except for the fourth, whom Tae had not seen outside the Arts classroom, he knew nothing of him beside the talks of some kids.

The Witt house was a large family home in a suburban-style neighborhood, but still with surveillance and well located in the city.

Tae-Joon gazed intently at the house while holding a backpack against his chest, accommodating his glasses he turned to see his mother who was sitting in the driver's seat, while he was in the back with Mila.

“I'll come for you in an hour, okay?" Mrs. Park commented, before looking at her son with a warm smile that radiated confidence, "You can tell Mrs. Witt to call me if anything happens.”

Tae-Joon was unable to respond when Mila, along with an elbow, shouted in a mocking tone:

"What is going to happen is that Tae-Tae is going to run out as soon as he sees the weirdo!”

"M-Mila!" Tae responded in defense, hitting his sister on the shoulder, but that only makes her laugh.

"What? I'm telling the truth, Witt’s younger son is weird, and he talks like one…" Mila repeated, seeking support from her mother as if she were telling the absolute truth, instead, Mrs. Park looked at her with disapproval.

"Mila, that's really rude, you shouldn't say those things.”

“But-“

A simple glance was enough for Mila to shut up, Tae, for his part, was with his eyes fixed in the house again. His mother, realizing this, touched his shoulder to draw his attention, before opening the door.

"Do not listen to your sister, Mrs. Witt's son is a sun full of charisma, you will get along well with him…” and then, she added in a whisper " if you see him..."

Tae-Joon did not understand what his mother meant, so he only nodded at her before putting his glasses back in and getting out of the car, it wasn't long enough for his mother to do it too and walk him to the door.

The lawn was green and well kept, plants came and went and you could see a large tree extending its arms above the House, indicating that it was in the backyard.

Already at the entrance, they rang the bell and it was not a matter of time for someone to be heard walking towards the door that, after the sound of some locks, opened.

A woman, neither young nor old, but simply beautiful and with an aura of warmth radiating from her opened the door, she was wearing simple clothes with a white apron that covered part of her clothing, Tae could not help but bend his mouth when the woman smiled charmingly.

"Oh, Mrs. Park! What a joy to see you again," the woman commented while holding a small plate of cookies in her hands, Tae could not help but feel his mouth drooling with saliva when the smell of chocolate chip cookies came to him, it smelled delicious," and you must be Tae Joon, am I right?”

He was so bogged down with those cookies that by the time Ms. Evelyn mentioned his name, Tae was just startled. Embarrassed by the lack of attention, he only nodded softly as he looked to the ground.

They did not have many resources, although they lived comfortably, they could not afford such luxuries as it was to buy cookies like that and, if they did, they used to be cheap and tasteless.

"Tae, don't be rude, say hello,” His mom scolds him, making Tae blush for lack of manners, but instead Ms. Evelyn saved him with the bell.

"Calm down, do not pressure him, it's his first day, he will get used to it, do you want to stop for tea before class?”

"Oh, no, I have to take Mila to her Hockey classes before it gets late, but thanks for the invitation,” her mother clarified, as she smiled kindly.

”As you like, you know you're welcome here, " Evelyn replied, corresponding with the warm, maternal smile she possessed.

The women spoke for a little two minutes, Tae didn’t hear much of it as he sharpened his gaze to the inside of the house. There was a window down the living room and, if he put effort into it, he could see that someone was playing in the yard of the house, but whoever was there was extremely good at hiding and had a low voice like they were trying not to be seen but at certain points ended up being.

It was a shadow, like a figure, but he was sure that it was someone.

Could it be…?

"Well, behave yourself and pay attention to the language class, okay?" His mother's voice made him put his feet back on the ground, he nodded and greeted her with a hug, before whispering a “See you, Mom”

Tae Joon watched as she headed towards the car and got into the driver's seat, the engine turned on and in one last greeting she threw a kiss at him, while Mila simply made faces at him from the back seat, but it wasn't for long until the car drove away and turned around the corner.

His, now, teacher guided him inside before closing the door behind them, the interior had a beautiful light thanks to the patio windows that gave rise to a warm light, making the place look incredibly homey yet formal at the same time.

"Well, Tae Joon, you arrived before your other two missing classmates, you can go to wait in the classroom where the others are or go to the yard, but the other areas of the House are prohibited, okay?" Miss Evelyn spoke to him as if they were family and, although he thought it would bother him, it only made him more confident.

"Okay, I think I'll go to the yard…”

"As you wish," She replied, before stroking his hair and leaving for a corridor in which she disappeared until the last door, a door which was supposed to be the classroom because of the voices of children that came from there.

Once he was alone in the entrance and/or living room of the house, he went directly to the door that, like the window itself, was made of glass and gave a beautiful view of the courtyard.

Intrigued, he opened the sliding door and crossed the frame.

Comparing that he lived in a duplex that didn't really have a yard, seeing so much grass and plants around the huge place made him found himself smiling unconsciously like a dog with two tails.

There were flowers and pots, also two tall trees with green and large leaves, it was noticed that everything was well taken care of, different plants could be appreciated, most for Tae were innumerable because he did not recognize them at all, but that only generated more curiosity.

Still holding his backpack, he placed it on his shoulders so that he could have his arms and hands-free, he approached some beautiful sunflowers, large and of a strong yellow, but the leaves, the leaves were soft and gentle to the touch.

Crack.

"Auch..." was heard, far from where he was.

'Someone stepped on a branch', he thought, the noise was low, but still audible enough to be heard, Tae Joon turned to see where that sound came from, he did not notice anyone, but then, a shadow moved behind the further away tree in the garden, and if Tae was not mistaken, it could be the same shadow he had seen before.

"Hey!" he called whoever was there, but the figure stood still, did not show or move from its place behind the tree, so he insisted," I had already seen you…”

The shadow barely peeked out half of his face, scruffy curlers covered that head, he was a child his age apparently, maybe a year younger, but no more than that.

Then, he remembered that the Witt family had a son around his age, such son that his mother had met and, he also recalls, that she mentioned something about 'seeing him', that could mean he knew how to hide... or so it seemed.

"You're Elliott, right?" He asked, giving a pass forward to be able to see the boy better, but that only caused him to hide behind a tree again.

"N-no, I don’t know who’s Elliott...," He replied, shy and short, but the nervousness betrayed him.

"Lying is bad..." Tae Joon said, as he crossed his arms and put on a bad face, he did not like lies, although sometimes he lied, he used to feel bad about it.

The boy again peeked out half of his body, his clothes were not clearly seen, but his face was noticeable due to the light passing through the leaves of the tree.

“Does that me-mean I'm bad?” he asked, confused, but not encouraged to go out anymore.

Seeing that the conversation can make Elliott move a little more, Tae decided to put some more pressure on it.

“Maybe you are…,” his words came out in a sultry, but ill-fated way, so he adder; “bad people hurt others, and I think you are bad.”

“No, th-that’s not true! I would never hurt someone…, I swe-swear I’m good!” Elliott was clearly offended at his words, maybe there was even some anger in his words.

Elliott, now with a bit of carelessness, let himself be seen as he moved from the shadows a little, Tae could see that he wore a sloppy, paint-stained white T-shirt, along with a gardener who reached down to his knees, but the sleeves were folded to prevent them from falling, finally, on his feet, he was barefoot, he thought that was the reason he hadn't heard Elliott walking before.

Tae Joon, realizing that he reached his goal of vaguely seeing Elliott, thought about how to get him out of there, because there were still things that were not appreciated, so he stopped crossing his arms and wobbled on his tongue, thinking about how to continue.

“Then show yourself,” He challenged him, but Elliott, who was taken by surprise at such a thing, remained hesitant.

Silence, pure silence.

"I, uhm, I…” Then he went into hiding again, “I th-think I need to go... now!”

Tae Joon saw him pull what appeared to be a rope, but by the time he realized this, a ladder was shown next to the tree, Elliott, with rapid movements, climbed up to what appeared to be a wooden floor because of the sounds, how could he...?

He stayed static, erratic thoughts were jumping on his mind: ‘Should I go up, go get him? But that would be to be very close to him, and if the rumors were true, what if Elliott resolutely turns out to be a freak or if he does something to him? Although Tae Joon doubted that, since after seeing the boy being so shy and elusive, he was left with only vague conclusions from Elliott.

One part of him told him to go, to face those doubts, but the other part told him that he should go back inside the house and hide in the classroom with the others. Is that moment that Mila’s words hit him, she saying that he would run away at the slightest chance looked like a challenge now, he thinks that maybe everyone had done that... but Tae Joon didn’t want to be another one in the ‘everyone’. So he armed himself with courage, and with the curiosity on hand, and after he accommodated his glasses, Tae Joon r _uns the risk._

Tae followed the boy's path going up the stairs and reaching what seemed to be a wooden floor that surrounded the tree, but it did not end there since, anchored in the trunk, there was a staircase directly up, which, after indecisive moments, ended going up as well.

And being there once, he noticed that he was in a kind of Treehouse.

It was big, not exaggerated, but enough for 8 guys his age to comfortably enter.

He saw drawers, toys, a small coffee table, a fabric hammock hanging from a branch of the ceiling, and a makeshift bed in a corner. The place was clear because of the windows without glass that there was, registering well, he managed to see something moving in a corner, but this “something” was covered by a blanket.

Tae approached him little by little, if he was not mistaken, he could see the hands of the boy holding the blanket tightly.

"Why are you he-here?" he muttered underneath, it was an indecipherable tone.

“It's just, uhm, well I saw you down there and… and well I thought that-”

“You shouldn't have, " Elliott cut off Tae’s words, again.

"Why not? This place…” He started, as he looked at the treehouse," it's so cool, really, it looks like a secret spy spot.”

Something in his words had surprised Elliott, because little by little he was removing the blanket from his head, letting out the curlers and his face, had hazel puppy eyes and a shy but losing teeth smile, his skin, Tae described, it was a color of coffee with milk, between a dark and light that contrasted with his whitish skin.

"Do you re-rea-ril-“, the words stuck to him, Tae Joon watched as Elliott bit his lip before trying again to speak again, “Do you really you think that?”

The question caught his attention because anyone with two fingers on the forehead would be delighted to see such a treehouse, but, now that Tae thinks, he never noticed that there was a treehouse in the first place, a thing that confused it, but Tae Joon would have time to know if he was going blind or if it was some kind of trick.

“I mean, well I don't understand how anyone wouldn't see this as…” Tae tried to continue, but questions fluttered in his head; who wouldn't see this as something amazing? How he didn’t see the treehouse in the yard? And if it was meant to be a hidden spot for Elliott, what exactly was he hiding from?

Elliott's expression changed briefly, as if remembering something he did not want to.

“Some of... of the other kids they…” he seemed to be looking for words, although nothing came out of his mouth, “For-forget it, it's just that I'm surprised to see someone up here outside my brothers.”

Tae devoted himself to exploring the boy's words, wondering how it was that they said Elliott was antisocial, for what he had seen so far in these minutes shared with the boy, Tae Joon could completely say that at first glance Elliott seemed to be one of the classic children with thousands of friends.

He let his gaze go to his hands, he did not know what to say now, he had seen the fourth son of the Witts, he was not a freak, Tae Joon couldn’t tell how he was feeling about it… Should he be surprised? Grateful? Disappointed?

Then, his sight concentrated on the wooden floor where small drops of blood were seen.

“You hurt yourself...” The words came out slow, a frown adorned his expression, “Are you okay?” He asked, between worried and trying to act like he wasn't.

“It was when I stepped on the branch outside... I cut myself with a somewhat sharp tip, ” He said, moving the blanket away so that his feet could be seen, the right one had a red spot on the plant.

"It could get infected, do you need me to look for something-”

“No, I'm f-f-fine, I can do it alone, ” Elliott cut off his words halfway, again.

He got up from the ground and let the blanket fall down his legs, thus revealing several cartoon bands that covered both the knees and various parts of the arm, Elliott also had bruises that appeared to be at least from a month ago.

Tae Joon, surprised by so much that was shown to him, was left tongue-tied, watching while Elliott walked back to a drawer, from which he drew a disinfectant, a ball of cotton wool, and, of course, a blue band with stars.

"Why...?" he wanted to ask, it felt invasive, but, it didn't stop him from worrying this time, he had hit himself several times already but this… this was something else, "Why are you so hurt?”

The question, for some reason, caused Elliott to briefly stoop in his place, crossing his arms, as if he were covering himself from the outside eye.

”It's because... “ the boy quickly rejoined, turning on his heels to see Tae, ”It's be-because I fall a lot, I'm kind of clumsy, mhm, " Elliott gave him a smile, but there was no shine in it.

Tae thought about telling him again that he did not like lies, but he kept the comment because he had no right to claim anything from Elliott. After all, Tae Joon had not even told the boy his name, and if Elliott was hiding the truth about his injuries, for something it would be.

Tae believes, that in the future he will tell him when they come into confidence with each other.

'The future?' Tae went over his thoughts little by little, 'Come into confidence?' He was talking about seeing Elliott again like they were… friends.

Although in part, it made sense, Tae Joon would have to come at least once a week to the Witt house for his English lessons, which gave odds of seeing Elliott again in the course of the day, there was also the school, however, Tae was sure Elliott was a grade lower than his. 

"Hey, don't ig-ignore me...” Elliott said, pulling Tae Joon out of his head with a strong stroke of offending words.

The boy was sitting in front of him, Tae could not say Since when nor how he had gotten so close in a short time.

But, he looked at Elliott's foot to meet the blue bandage already placed, had he really been so engrossed in his mind?

"I’m… I’m sorry, I was distracted..." he apologized, looking at Elliott and bumping into his big brown eyes, which analyzed him as an airport Guard to someone with ‘bad pints’.

"Mhm, you didn't tell me your name, although you seem to already know mine, “ the chestnut reproached him, as he bit his nails in what Tae thought was a nervous act.

Tae Joon saw his name as something extremely valuable, a name gave rise to identity, identity is something very personal. Tae thought that giving his name was a big step, but that it was right with the right people.

Despite his indecisive mind, Tae saw Elliott as one of those special people.

"My name comenzó” he began to speak, but the words stuck in his throat, refusing to go out, so he swallowed saliva and pulled them out," my name is Tae Joon Park…”

He felt as if a transformer had slapped him, so he closed his eyes and waited for Elliott's reaction.

"Tae Joon…” Tae heard Elliott whisper his name, “ Tae Joon Park" it was like he was tasting the words on the tongue, then he heard a slight laugh, " "Your name... is weird compared to other...," Elliott commented softly.

Tae Joon thought that the chestnut was going to laugh at his name, several guys did it because it was, as Elliott said “ " weird”, so he was already waiting for the boy to make fun of it…

"Ra-rare does not mean bad…it means different and, if something is dif-dif-ferent, it is unique..." Elliott confessed to him, so simply and innocently that Tae Joon thought he had heard wrong.

She turned to see him, with a smirk on his face that sure was making him look like a fool, but it didn't matter now.

"Would you like...?" he asked, without looking away from the boy's eyes in front of him who, to Tae Joon's surprise, looked at him the same way, only more confused.

“…?” Elliott bit his fingernails while waiting for Tae Joon's brain to gather enough neurons to respond, but before he even spoke a third voice was heard.

"Tae Joon, come Inside, the class is about to begin!" Elliott's mom said from the yard door.

Tae suddenly found himself despondent, he had not yet been able to ask Elliott what he wanted…

"Elliott, would you-?”

“You must go, now, " the voice of the one who a minute ago was extremely sweet, now was demanding but fearful, Elliott rose from the ground and took Tae by the hand to raise him too.

"Wait, I-“

"Tae, are you here?" Miss Evelyn's voice rang again, causing Elliott to only drag Tae up the hatch leading down the stairs to the first floor.

“If others see you here… " Elliott said softly, his anxious eyes scanned the place, while he kept pushing Tae Joon to leave.

Tae looked down the stairs and then Elliott, he had to leave, now, but for some reason, he didn't want to.

“Wait!” he almost screamed, causing Elliott to move a little away from him by the sudden fright, Tae Joon, who stood still, looked at those brown eyes.

Oh, those brown eyes, which for some reason looked at him with a confidence that hung by a thread.

“Would you like to be my friend?”

Elliott was paralyzed, Tae thought that maybe it was a somewhat accelerated question or that Elliott maybe did not want them to be friends, he was about to tell him to forget what he said, but as soon as he opened his mouth Elliott started talking.

”Ta-Tae Joon, I…" he was hesitating as he played with his shirt, his feet looked like at any moment they were going to guide him backward," Y-y-yes…”

He couldn't help but smile at Elliott's response, letting out an air he didn't know he was holding.

They stayed like this, looking at each other as if waiting for him to repent, to leave, to do something. But nothing happened but two new friends looking at each other, so, the little bubble that had formed was cut off when Elliott's mom's voice was heard again.

"Tae Joon? Please, it's not time to play. Come Inside, ” her voice was still soft, but this time it was hanging by a thread, Tae thought that she did not like to get angry, so it was better not to risk luck.

Tae shook his head as if clearing his mind to concentrate on going to class, his mother would kill him if she found out he was late for his first class with Miss Evelyn and the last thing Tae Joon wanted was for that to happen.

"I have to...,” the hatch points out, with a silly laugh.

"Yeah, you better go, mom doesn't give cookies to those who arrive very late...,” said Elliott, who reciprocated with a hidden smile.

Tae went down two feet down the stairs before looking back at Elliott, their eyes met again, as they smiled timidly, he silently tells him that they would see each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a long trip, huh? 
> 
> My condolences for any grammatical error, I'm not a native English speaker and that complicates things a little bit, but, hey! with practice it is learned, so I hope that at least you have enjoyed this reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter, which I will see when I bring it.   
> Stay connected and I say chao.

**Author's Note:**

> Heeey, what's up? I'm glad you finally arrived.
> 
> Tell me, how do you find this (very simple and idiotic) prologue? Did you get curious?  
> I hope so, because I plan to come up with several surprises for the next chapters and, if my hand so wishes, I will add some odd fanart to accompany the reading, who knows?  
> I'll see you in the next chapter, chao.


End file.
